Welcome

Welcome to the POZ/AIDSmeds Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ/AIDSmeds community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the
symbol in each box.

Welcome to Am I Infected

IMPORTANT UPDATE
Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Welcome to the "Am I Infected?" POZ forum.

New members -- those who have posted three or fewer messages -- are permitted to post questions and responses, free of charge (make them count!). Ongoing participation in the "Am I Infected?" forum -- posting more than three questions or responses -- requires a paid subscription.

A seven-day subscription
is $9.99, a 30-day subscription is $14.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.

Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Am I Infected?" forum -- including past, present and future POZ Forums members -- will need to subscribe, with
secure payments made via PayPal.

There will be no charge to continue reading threads in the
"Am I Infected?" forum, nor will there be a charge for participating
in any of the Main Forums; Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits; and Off Topic
Forums. Similarly, all POZ and AIDSmeds pages,
including our "How is HIV
Transmitted?" and "Am I Infected? (A
Guide to Testing for HIV)" lessons, will remain accessible to
all.

NOTE: HIV testing questions will still need to be posted in the "Am I
Infected?" forum; attempts to post HIV symptoms or testing questions in any other forums will be considered violations of our rules of membership and subject to time-outs and permanent bans.

To learn how to upgrade your Forums account
to participate beyond three posts in the "Am I Infected?" Forum, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding
and future support of the best online support service for people living with,
affected by and at risk for HIV.

Author
Topic: bruised penis (Read 1562 times)

I recently had unprotected sex after a night of drinking the next day I realized the shaft of my my penis was bruised and burning. Now am worried sick and having sleepless nights. Have my chances of contracting HIV or other STDs increased because of the bruising.

Hi Mr . If the unprotected sex you had was unprotected vaginal and anal sex then you did have a risk and will need to test at 6 weeks past any possible exposure and again at 3 months to confirm the results .

The only way to know your HIV status is to test after the window testing period I provided above . The bruising you mention isn't a factor for or against the possibility of being exposed to HIV in your situation . Your symptoms are from the bruise itself and has nothing to do with whether you had an exposure or not .

I recently had unprotected sex after a night of drinking the next day I realized the shaft of my my penis was bruised and burning. Now am worried sick and having sleepless nights. Have my chances of contracting HIV or other STDs increased because of the bruising.

The shaft of yoru penis, bruised or not, is NOT what you should be worried about at all. We often have people with bruises, shaving nicks, and other irregularities on the shaft of their penis, yet used a condom. We tell tham (as I am telling you) that the ONLY vulnerable spot on the male penis is the glans, or head of the penis. In uncircumsized males, semi-permeable dendritic cells can be infected, as well as the permeable cells in the urethra (the tip of the penis).

So as long as the head of a penis is covered during interocurse there is NO risk.

However

YOu have had unprotected sex, period. Your cruising wil have no impact on your risk. The fact that the glans (head) of the penis and the tip (urethra) were no protected makes it a legitimate risk for HIV as well as other STDs.

At this point there is little you can do except wait, get a test six weeks after your incident, then get your definitive HIV test at three months.

To reiterate: the bruising on your shaft is of abslutely no consequence. It is the urethra and head of your penis that came into contact with cervical mucosa, the thick fluid deep within the vagina that, if your partner was infected with a viral load not suppressed through medication, can (and does) transmit HIV.

Please get tested at the appropriate times, and please wear a condom for penetrative anal and vaginal sex.

Logged

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

I am fully circumcised and if it can be of any comfort I didn't ejaculate in her.

[/quote

Ejaculation is totally irrelevant to the incident. If YOU were HIV positive YOUR ejaculation would have an impact on a female partner's risk. However, your exposure to the cervical fluids is the same whether or not you ejaculate.

You have had a significant risk and need to test. Fortunately, HIV transmission is more difficult to achieve from female to male. I certianly hope you come out OK after this incident.

Logged

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."